When you're looking for a new bike we want to make sure you have as much information as possible. So we've created this comparrison of all the 18" BMX bikes that we stock and reccomend so you can get a great idea on which one suits you best in terms of spec and price! As always, you can contact us if you have any more questions.
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PRICING
With all these comparrisons you really do have to take into account your budget first and then find the best option within your price range which is why these comparrisons should be very helpful when choosing the best bike for you.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: $2,199.99
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: $949.95
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: $699.99
We The People CRS Bike: $859.99
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: $449.99
Radio Dice 18" Bike: $699.95
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: $649.95
Kink Kicker 18" Bike $669.00
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FRAMES
One of the most important factors for choosing the right bike is the material the frame is made from, so we've put together some info to help on that topic....
CrMo Steel: The most common and trusted material used in BMX frames for its strength and liteweight. Therefore, generally bikes with CrMo are great for riders really trying to push the limits with their riding.
Alloy: Frames made from Alloy are great for the younger/smaller riders because of the reduced weight. There is a comprmise though as CrMo is stronger so there may come a time where the rider wants to change to a CrMo frame.
Hi-Ten Steel: You'll find this on the cheaper bikes because it's still strong enough for younger riders but it wont be as light as a CrMo or Alloy frame.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Full CrMo / 12.5" rear end.
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: CrMo top & bottom tubes only.
Colony Horizon 18" Bike ($699.99): 6061-T6 Alloy / 12" rear.
We The People CRS Bike: CrMo downtube only
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: Hi-Ten / 12" rear.
Radio Dice 18" Bike: 6061-T6 Alloy
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: CrMo downtube / 12.2" rear.
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: Hi-Ten / 12.25" rear.
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Approx weight comparrisons
18" bike with Alloy frame: 9.7kgs
18" bike with CrMo frame: 10.3kgs
18" bike with Hi-Ten frame: 10.8kgs
FORKS
The material the forks are made of is an important factor to consider. The best would be heat treated full CrMo with one piece steer tube of course. That’s the same construction forks that the pro’s use. But it’s also the most expensive and not found on almost all bikes.
Look for at least a CrMo steer tube where you can. You might notice the use of what is called a 2 piece steer tube. They are a cheaper way to build a set of forks and why they are used on most bikes to keep the bike more affordable.
Tapered fork legs are also another great option took out for as well. It makes the forks lighter and also cosmetically, more appealing.
Offset is the distance the front axle sits an ahead of the centre line of the steer tube. 25mm is the usual these days and is a good fit for most riding styles. It helps determine the front end handling of a bike.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Full CrMo / 1pc CNC steertube / 25mm offset.
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: CrMo Steertube / 33mm offset.
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: CrMo with tapered legs / 25mm offset.
We The People CRS Bike: Hi-Ten with CrMo steerer / 26mm offset
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: Hi-Ten tapered legs.
Radio Dice 18" Bike: Hi-Ten tapered legs.
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: CrMo with tapered legs / 30mm offset
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: CrMo Steertube / Tapere legs / 32mm offset.
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BARS
The main thing to look out for is choosing the best "rise" height to suit the rider. CrMo material is always going to be better but not a deal breaker for a bike this size.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Full heat treated CrMo / 8" rise x 25.2" wide.
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: Hi-Ten / 8" rise x 27" wide.
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: CrMo / 8" rise x 25.5" wide
We The People CRS Bike: Hi-Ten
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: Hi-Ten / 7.5" rise x 25" wide.
Radio Dice 18" Bike: Hi-Ten
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: CrMo / 8" rise x 25.2" wide
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: Hi-Ten / 8" rise
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STEM
On 18" bikes you will find the the stems will have a shorter reach so that it suits the smaller rider compared to a regular aftermarket stem or what would be on a 20" bike which usually has a reach of around 52mm.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike:
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: Unknown.
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: 40mm reach / Forged Alloy
We The People CRS Bike: 45mm reach
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: 40mm reach / Forged Alloy
Radio Dice 18" Bike: 40mm reach.
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: 40mm reach / Forged Alloy
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: 50mm reach.
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REAR HUB
A quality rear hub is a key item to look at when buying a new bike because there are quite a few moving parts within it so the higher quality you can affod the better. Primarily having sealed bearings would be priority one when it comes to rear hubs.
Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Wasp Alloy cassette / fully sealed / 9T driver / 14mm female axle
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: Fully sealed / 9T driver
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: Fully sealed / 9T driver / 10mm axle
We The People CRS Bike: Fully sealed / 9T driver / 14mm axle
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: Fully sealed / 9T driver / 10mm axle
Radio Dice 18" Bike: Semi sealed / 9T driver / 14mm female axle
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: Fully sealed / 9T driver / 14mm axle
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: Semi sealed / 9T driver / 14mm
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FRONT HUB
Since there's not too much moving parts within a front hub it's not as crusial as the rear but it's still good to know which ones have sealed bearings as sealed bearing hubs will require little to no maintainance compared to un-sealed hubs.
Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Wasp Alloy / Fully sealed / Female axle
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: Alloy / Un-Sealed
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: Alloy / Fully sealed / 10mm axle
We The People CRS Bike: Alloy / Fully sealed / 10mm axle
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: Alloy / Fully sealed / 10mm axle
Radio Dice 18" Bike: Alloy / Loose ball / 10mm axle
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: Alloy / Fully sealed / 10mm axle
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: Alloy / Loose ball / 10mm axle
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CRANKS
Since you're standing on your cranks the entire time you are riding you want to make sure they can be trusted. 3PC cranks will always be a better options because they are stronger, the other spec to look at is how many splines the splindle has because the more splines the stronger the crank because the cranks will have a tighter fit on the splindle which in turn creates less movement over time.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Colony Venator / 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 48 spline / 140mm length
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 8 spline / 130mm length
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 8 spline / 140mm length
We The People CRS Bike: 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 8 spline / 152mm length
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: 1PC / 152mm length
Radio Dice 18" Bike: 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 8 spline / 152mm length
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 8 spline / 152mm length
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: 3PC / Tubular CrMo / 8 spline / 152mm length
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BOTTOM BRACKETS
You want to check if the bottom bracket is the most common (and reccomended) Mid size or if it is the USA style bottom bracket. Mid is most popular because of the smaller bearing size and because all after market cranks use Mid BB's so it's easier to upgrade your cranks when needed. Whereas USA bottom brackets are used on the cheaper range of bikes that aren't really ideal if you're trying to ride a lot of freestyle at skateparks.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: Sealed MId BB
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: Sealed MId BB
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: Sealed MId BB
We The People CRS Bike: Sealed Spanish BB
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: USA looseball
Radio Dice 18" Bike: Sealed BSA BB
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: Sealed MId BB
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: Sealed MId BB
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HEADSETS
There's 2 main styles of BMX headsets when it comes to complete bikes. You have "Integrated" which is where the headset cups are built into the frame which is the most common and also the better option. The other is having external cups that you press into your frame.
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Colony Sweet Tooth Pro 18" Bike: 1-1/8" Integrated - Sealed
Fit Misfit 18" Bike: 1-1/8" external
Colony Horizon 18" Bike: 1-1/8" Integrated- Sealed
We The People CRS Bike: 1-1/8" Integrated- Sealed
Division Blitzer 18" Bike: 1-1/8" external
Radio Dice 18" Bike: 1-1/8" external - Looseball
Academy Inspire 18" Bike: 1-1/8" Integrated- Sealed
Kink Kicker 18" Bike: 1-1/8" Integrated- Sealed
We hope all this information helps and you can check out the full range of 18" bikes here but if you have anymore questions feel free to contact us.